On May 31, 2003, The Seattle Public Library's new Capitol Hill Branch opens to the public. The $5 million building replaces the Susan Henry Branch Library, which was built in 1954, at 425 Harvard Avenue E.
In 1954, the Susan Henry Branch library opened on land purchased with a gift from the Henry family as a memorial to their mother. The Henry branch served the Capitol Hill neighborhood and as a home for the Library for the Blind. The Library for the Blind -- later the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library -- moved out in 1973.
In 1998, Seattle voters approved the $196.4 million "Libraries For All" bond issue, which provided for replacement or renovation of existing branches, several new branches, and a new main library. The Library Board considered several proposals for siting the Capitol Hill Branch and decided to stick with the site of the existing branch.
The 11,215-square-foot building was designed by Johnston Architects and Cutler Architects. The new building is more than twice the size of the old one and can hold 40,000 books.
Sources:
Deborah Carlton Harrell, "New $5 million Capitol Hill Library is One for the Books," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 31, 2003, p. B-1; Nguyen Huy Vu, "Opening-day Festivities to Include Speeches, Guest Readers, Conga Line," The Seattle Times, May 31, 2003, p. B-1; HistoryLink.org Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, "Henry Branch, The Seattle Public Library" (by Alan J. Stein), http://www.historylink.org/ (accessed June 2003).
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